Three Kalispell teachers recently received $3,000 stipends for achieving National Board certification.

Autumn Gottschlich, a language arts teacher at Kalispell Middle School; Kerrie More, a librarian at Kalispell Middle School; and Christy Peeples, a world language teacher at Flathead and Glacier high schools, received the stipends last week during a ceremony at the middle school.

"We are proud to recognize and acknowledge these educators for their hard work and dedication to furthering excellence in education," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, who was on hand to honor the teachers.

The educators are among 73 Montana teachers who have achieved National Board certification.

Becoming board-certified includes an extensive series of performance-based assessments, including teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes and analyses of the teacher's classroom teaching and student learning. This collection of materials is compiled over the course of a regular school year and is submitted in the spring.

"Research shows that Nationally Board certified teachers make a huge difference in the education of the children they serve," said Eric Feaver, president of MEA-MFT, Montana's teachers' and public employees' union.

MEA-MFT and the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation provide subsidy scholarships to defray the cost of applying for National Board certification and sponsor workshops to help candidates navigate the certification process, Feaver said.

MEA-MFT and the foundation have supported National Board certification since 1997, he added.